Southington Starts Tip Program To Help Fight Vandalism

SOUTHINGTON — An anonymous telephone tip line and online message site are the town's latest tools to fight vandalism, a concern after damage was caused along a rail-trail path and in the town center.

"Act On It" is the name of the program launched this week by the police department, a month after the town council approved creating a system where people can leave tips anonymously to help combat vandalism.

The phone number people should use to leave tips with police is 860-276-1234. The online place for tipsters to leave messages can be found on the police department website, southingtonpolice.org.

Information about the new tip program was posted on the town's website on July 29. That note can be used to access the police website.

Art Secondo, executive director of the Southington Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday that the new program is a good step, one the chamber will publicize to its members who have businesses in town.

At a community meeting this spring about vandalism and criminal mischief, council members said that the damage detracts from the appearance of the commercial sections and that the cost of cleaning up after vandals is a cost that owners often passed along to customers

At a council meeting July 14, Pamela DePaolo, president of DePaolo Furniture of Center Street, said repeated vandalism in the town center concerns business owners.

"The costs continue to mount as we have had to remove graffiti from our trucks and buildings, and repair and replace broken windows in our showrooms," she told the council, reading from a statement. "We also had windows broken at one of our warehouses on another street also in Southington. The police have responded quickly and have tried to help us detail and document the events so that the individual or individuals responsible for causing the damage can be identified and apprehended."

She said the damage to the furniture store property has cost $2,500 so far this year. She suggested that the town impose a curfew in downtown sections to give police more leeway in preventing vandalism.

Council members listened but took no action on her curfew suggestion.

"It's something we may eventually review but it's more an end-of-the-road step," Town Manager Garry Brumback said Thursday." We'll see how 'Act On It' works."